From John the Baptizer to John the Doubter

Suggested Reading: Matthew 11:1-15

When Jesus began his ministry, he appeared at the river where John was preaching and baptizing people as they repented of their sins. When Jesus showed up to be baptized, John immediately recognized him and argued with Jesus about who should baptize whom, followed by Jesus' baptism and the opening of the Heavens as a voice proclaimed Jesus to be God's son (Matthew 3:14-17). But shortly afterwards, John was arrested and began to rot in prison while Jesus' ministry began to flourish. John had believed that Jesus was the messiah, but as he sat in prison things began to change. Perhaps John, like everyone else, had a mistaken idea of what the Messiah was supposed to be. Perhaps he expected that the Messiah would free him from prison and was trying to understand why that hadn't happened. Whatever the case, this man who had proclaimed Jesus as the coming Messiah sent a message by his disciples and asked Him, “Are You the One who is to come, or should we expect someone else?” (Matthew 11:2-3, HCSB).

Sometimes, when life gets hard and doesn't go the way we expect it to, we can begin to doubt ourselves and the truths we have learned along the way. Just like John, a man whose birth had been proclaimed by angels, who had recognized the voice of the Messiah's mother from inside the womb, and who began to doubt what he knew to be true, we can begin to doubt ourselves and the things we've learned as well. When our marriage hits a rough patch, we begin to question whether this was really the person God had for us and whether we can really handle it anymore. When tragedy strikes or that new job doesn't last like it was supposed to, we begin to question God's control, or his existence, or both. When people walk out on us and we're left picking up the pieces of a broken life, we can begin to question whether we are really who we thought we were or if we've just been fooling ourselves all along.

When John got discouraged and began to doubt both Jesus and himself, Jesus told John's messengers, “Go and report to John what you hear and see: the blind see, the lame walk, those with skin diseases are healed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor are told the good news. And if anyone is not offended because of Me, he is blessed” (Matthew 11:4-6, HCSB). Because pain and suffering tend to shrink our field of vision Jesus told John to look beyond the circumstances of his prison, beyond the hardships he was currently facing and see the way God was moving around him, to remember that the movement of God was bigger than his own circumstances. Jesus reminded John to, once again, look at the bigger picture and to remember that, even if God is not doing what we expect, God is still active. Jesus reminded John that God blesses those who refuse to give up the faith when God allows them to experience difficulty.

When life is hard and God isn't doing what you think he should, when you feel trapped in difficult circumstances and wonder how you will ever escape, don't give in to the doubts that naturally attack you. Make a point of looking around you and seeing how God is moving beyond your own circumstances. Remember the examples of John, and Job, and all the heroes of the faith who experienced difficulty and hardship but refused to give up the faith.

Difficult times will inevitably bring discouragement and doubt. Don't give in. Keep your head up, watching for the movement of God around you. Don't let go of the truths you've learned because things get hard.

Becoming Superheros for Jesus

Suggested Reading: Matthew 17:1-13

Over the ten years of Smallville's run on television, a particular plot idea popped up several times: what kind of person would Clark Kent be without all of Superman's powers? A couple of times his powers were transferred to someone else and Clark had to save the day without his powers and while fighting someone who did have his powers. Once, his consciousness traded bodies with Lex Luthor's father and he had to save the day, powerless and from behind bars. Another time, he disobeyed the spirit of his father living in the Fortress of Solitude and was stripped of his powers as a punishment but he still stepped in front of a bullet to save someone. Repeatedly, the show tried to demonstrate that the powers didn't make a superhero. Clark's character made him a superhero.

In Matthew 17, Jesus was having a conversation with his disciples in the wake of the Transfiguration, when Elijah and Moses appeared on the mountaintop with Jesus. According to Jewish tradition, Elijah was supposed to come before the Messiah came. But, clearly, the Messiah was here in the person of Jesus and they hadn't spotted Elijah yet. So the disciples asked Jesus why the scribes taught that Elijah would come first. Jesus answered, "But I tell you, Elijah has already come, but he wasn’t recognized, and they chose to abuse him. And in the same way they will also make the Son of Man suffer." Then the disciples realized he was talking about John the Baptist. (Matthew 17:12-13, NLT). See, when the Jews watched for Elijah they were watching for a man of powerful miracles instead of a truth-telling prophet who confronted kings with their sin. They were looking for the powers of Elijah when they should have been looking for the character of Elijah.

We often make this same mistake ourselves, desiring the flashy, spectacular power of a godly disciple rather than the character of a godly disciple. Sometimes, we yearn to heal the sick or raise the dead or speak in an unknown tongue like the apostles when we should be imitating their character: a willingness to change course when realizing they were in the wrong, an attentiveness to the Spirit, an unyielding integrity, and a boldness to share the Gospel with anyone able to receive it.

The ability to perform miracles was incidental to who the apostles were, not their defining characteristic. God may or may not use us to perform miracles someday. But right now God is trying to refine our character, conforming us to the image of His Son. Our character is what counts. It's what sets us apart and identifies us as powerful disciples of Jesus.

Don't evaluate your worth the to Kingdom of God based on whether or not you perform miracles or incredible accomplishments. Your character is much more important than either of those things. If your character improves, the chances of accomplishing something amazing for Christ increase dramatically. 

When Elijah Entered the Matrix

Suggested Reading: John 1:19-23, Matthew 11:7-15

In the movie, The Matrix, there is an extraordinary scene where Neo, the prophesied "One" who will save humanity from the machines but who doesn't believe that he is the One, latches onto a rope from a falling helicopter, plants his feet firmly on the roof of a skyscraper, and holds on, saving Trinity, a woman caught in the helicopter that's about to go down. The copter crashes into the building and the glass ripples out from the impact. Morpheus, the man who recruited Neo and believes in him, appears, and when Neo expresses doubts about being the One, Morpheus tells him, "There is a difference between knowing the path and walking the path."

Just as Neo was conflicted about being the One, John the Baptist seemed to have some confusion about his own role. Jewish prophecy understood that Elijah would return before the messiah came. In John 1:21, John was asked by the religious leaders if he was Elijah and John flatly denied it. But Jesus, in Matthew 11:14, said this about John: And if you are willing to accept what I say, he is Elijah, the one the prophets said would come (NLT). John didn't seem to think he was Elijah, but Jesus confirmed that he was (and we would assume that Jesus was right). John may not have understood exactly the role he was supposed to play but that didn't seem to keep John from playing it. "There is a difference between knowing the path and walking the path."

Maybe today you are confused about what God has planned for you. Maybe you are uncertain where God wants you to go or what role God wants you to play. If so, just remember that you are not required to understand your role in order to fulfill your role. Trust God. Seek God's face on a daily basis. Obey God when you hear His voice. Do the best you can, when you can, living your life totally surrendered to God and yielded to the Spirit. And even if you don't know the path you are supposed to travel, you'll end up walking it.

Being a Good Person by Feeling Bad About Yourself

Suggested Reading: Mark 6:14-28

Not long ago, I watched an episode of Gilmore girls with my wife. One of the main characters, Rory, a college girl was chosen as editor of the Yale Daily News while Rory's best friend was ousted from the position.  Rory felt bad about it but thought it was a good move and went along with it. Rory's friend took a while to accept her new position at the paper with anything resembling grace, but the story reminded me of the number of times we feel bad about doing things but choose to do them anyway.

In Mark chapter 6, we find King Herod in a similar position. He had been married to an Arabian princess but had an affair with his brother's wife (who was also his niece) and they each left their respective spouses to marry each other. John the Baptizer criticized Herod for breaking the Jewish law in this way and so Herod had him arrested.  But scripture describes this weird paradox. Herod knew John to be a righteous and holy man so he protected him in prison from his own wife's scheming ways. At one point Mark tells us this, "When Herod heard him he would be very disturbed, yet would hear him gladly" (Mark 6:20, HCSB).

Why in the world would Herod enjoy being so disturbed by John? Well, we do that very thing all the time. I have counseled with a number of people engaged in ongoing activities that were wrong who felt very badly about what they were doing. But the more we talked, I discovered that they were satisfied with feeling bad about what they were doing rather than fixing it.  You see, in many people's minds, feeling bad about doing something bad means you are not really a bad person. So, while they continue doing the thing that is wrong, they decide that feeling bad about it is enough to be a good person "at heart." In an odd way, these people feel better about themselves when they feel bad about what they have done.  And ultimately, these people are only really interested in feeling good about themselves...which happens because they felt bad about behaving badly.

What about us? Do we ever catch ourselves relieved that we feel bad about doing something wrong? Do we feel better when we admit we're doing something wrong even though we don't really have any intention of putting things right? If so, we are only interested in feeling good about ourselves and not in doing the right things.

If feeling bad makes you feel better, something is out of balance.  Focus on doing right and setting things right and you might feel good about yourself for something other than just feeling bad.